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The Surprising Health Benefits of Pumpkin

Community volunteers for Women’s Hospital have hand made knitted “pumpkin caps” for all babies for this Thanksgiving holiday. Cone Health OB/GYN, Carolyn Harraway-Smith, MD and Cone Health pediatrician, Kaye Gable, MD, took this time to share some of the surprising health benefits of eating pumpkin.

The number one benefit from eating pumpkins is healthy vision and eye health. Pumpkins have high levels of beta-carotene. This gives the pumpkin its color and it turns into Vitamin A in the body.

Vitamin A also plays a role in bone growth, which is important for infants, children and adolescents. Don’t feed to infants until after 6 months old.

Pumpkins are a decent source of fiber, and is low on the glycemic index.

Introducing healthy foods early in your child’s diet can pay big dividends in their eating habits later in life.

Pregnant mothers need to make healthy food choices during the holidays. Pumpkins are a good source of folate, which can help prevent birth defects if consumed while pregnant.

The number one benefit from eating pumpkins is healthy vision and eye health. Pumpkins have high levels of beta-carotene. This gives the pumpkin its color and it turns into Vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A also plays a role in reproductive health and immune system health.

It's a good source of potassium, which helps with blood pressure and therefore heart health as well as muscle health.

It's a good source of Vitamin C, which aids in the growth and repair of tissues such as wound healing.

Looking for a way to incorporate pumpkin into your diet? You can put pumpkin into oatmeal, pancakes, soups or pasta dishes. Here is one of Cone Health dietitian Kate Watt's favorite pumpkin recipes.